Current solid ink jet formulations, typically, provide prints that are vibrant and allow for printers that are reliable and affordable. However, prints formed with current solid ink jet formations that are wax based images tend not to be robust and are often scratched or marred by stress applied to the images. Piezoelectric ink jet (hereinafter “PIJ”) printing processes that utilize ultraviolet (hereinafter “UV”) inks to form extremely robust images. However, these UV inks require bulky, complex and expensive UV light curing stations or expensive photoinitiators to cure the images or to fix the images onto a surface of the substrate. The known reactive inks require exposure to e-beam radiation to be cured. E-beam curable inks are more expensive still, for example, about ten times as costly as a UV lamp system and require effective shielding.
A need, therefore, exists for a reactive ink system and methods for forming images using the same that provides images that are robust and do not scratch or mar when stress is applied thereon. Further, a need exists for a reactive ink system and methods for forming images using the same that provides robust images that are inexpensive and efficiently produce images.